Marketing Strategies and Consumer Behavior FRQ Practice (ALL)

If you want to time yourself, try to answer the question in 25 minutes. It is not enough to answer a question by merely listing facts. You should present a cogent argument based on your critical analysis of the questions posed, using appropriate psychological terminology. 

Mobile Gamer Central (MGC) is preparing to launch a new game app. The advertisements for this new game are brightly colored, have lively music, and feature celebrities playing the game. To generate interest in the game, MGC plans to have these advertisements pop up multiple times while people are using other apps on their phone. The marketing director is pleased with the advertising campaign and thinks the game is really fun to play.

Explain how each of the following concepts relates to the scenario.

Peripheral Route to Persuasion

False consensus effect

Mere-exposure effect

After a few weeks with moderate success, MGC's marketing director decides to test the most effective ways to increase sales of the game. Marketing researchers recruit 100 people to play the new game. They randomly assign half of the people to observe someone demonstrating how the game is played and assign the other half of the people to play the video game themselves. Participants rate how likely they are to buy the game on a scale of 1 (not likely) through 10 (very likely). Results are as follows:

Participants rating (Mean)
Observed Game Demonstration (n = 50) 6.31
Personally Played Game (n=50) 2.04
p value <0.001

Participants Rating (Standard Deviation)
Observed Game Demonstration (n = 50) 1.25
Personally Played Game (n=50) .8

Explain how each of the following relates to the study.

Identify the operational definition of the dependent variable in the study

Explain what the difference between the standard deviations in the study indicates

Explain why random assignment is necessary to determine cause and effect in the study

Explain what the p value allows MGC to conclude about the study.